By: Dr. Zohaib Azhar
DBA – European International University, Paris
M-CIPD | SHRM | Alumni Board Director, EIU
Google Scholar: scholar.google.com/citations?user=HkjyfNAAAAAJ
I lead the human resource division as the HR head at Abu ElKhair Group & GCC marketing. In order to learn and understand my organisation’s business strategy for different business units, the range of services they offer and customer needs, I started engaging in cross-functional collaboration and analyzing their decision-making patterns. Attended regular strategic meetings and participate in discussions with the CEO, heads of each business unit, and project delivery teams to ensure alignment with current business goals. Within the group we had different types of businesses, (Clinics, Pharmacies, Pharmaceutical and restaurants etc.) and each business had its own strategy to run, so it was very important to have regular meetings with business unit heads. These interactions enabled me to remain informed about staffing needs, training gaps, business challenges of each business unit and growing customer needs.
To develop a deeper understanding of business needs and its products and services within the group, I met operations supervisors, also discussed with them client satisfaction, and complaints. I asked them for their opinion on how we can improve the business, conducted internal customer surveys as well. This approach provides valuable insights into the effectiveness of our services and highlights areas for constant improvement. Actually, it allowed me to align HR initiatives, play the role of a bridge between upper management and ground staff, and also helped me to create policies for talent acquisition, onboarding, etc, which not only focused on organisational objectives but also highlighted client service goals. These measures positively impacted overall internal customer loyalty scores 32.6% and ensured HR was contributing to business growth.
During that time, I noticed that there was a lot of demand for healthcare staff in the UAE, and qualified candidates were not available in the market as per demand, and as a result, their salary demand was increasing. On the other hand, it was becoming very difficult for
healthcare facilities to be profitable, while insurance companies were also reducing the claim percentage continuously.
In order to lower the cost of hiring, on boarding and payroll, after doing some research, I noticed that conducting overseas medical recruitment, especially from countries like Philippines, would be cost-effective, so I traveled to Manila and Cebu, conducted recruitment and hired medical staff for the next one year, in this way I saved 40% on annual payroll costs, directly enhancing profit margin and overall operational efficiency. For example, the monthly salary of a nurse in Abu Dhabi was 10000 AED per month, and I hired the same kind of qualified candidate for just 6000 AED, achieving substantial savings while maintaining high service quality because these candidates already passed the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi (DOH) Examinations. As a direct result each nurse saved 4000 AED per month in payroll cost or per hire 48,000 AED annually. Across 100+ such hires, this translates to total annual payroll savings of over AED 4.8 million.
Estimated Impact:
• Annual Payroll Savings: AED 4.8 million+
• Total Employees Managed: 500+ staff across multiple healthcare entities
• Annual Revenue of Group: AED 120 million+
• Total Patients Served Annually: Over 200,000
• Patient Satisfaction Score: Maintained above 94%, as per annual surveys and
DHA/DOH audits
• Year-over-Year Growth: Achieved 8% annual revenue growth and 5% profitability increase in pharmacies
• Malpractice Insurance Claims: Reduced to near-zero, with <0.1% claims per 10,000 patients, reflecting high clinical and hiring standards
On the other hand, recognising possible capability gaps among new hires from different international locations, mainly due to cultural and religious differences, I designed and delivered a tailored onboarding and training program. This process was focused on foundational knowledge of the UAE labour law, living style, and religious values, as well as developing customer communication skills by teaching them basic Arabic language skills. The outcome was an estimated 60% more competent and confident nursing team, leading to higher employee engagement percentages, lower turnover rates, and improved client retention.
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